Tag Archives: agents of shield

Fresh Content Day 22: Tornado Season

First, let me just say…RIP Bill Paxton. That guy was great.

He had a great career, and a life too short. But with roles in Weird Science, Terminator, Aliens, Navy Seals, True Lies and Apollo 13, Titanic, The Hatfields and McCoys, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, he left his mark on the nerd genre.

And then there was the little 1996 picture known as Twister. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the topic of today’s post.

Not the movie, but tornadoes.

You see, I live in a part of the world known as “Tornado Alley.” Tornadoes are unpredictable as hell. When they hit, they are devastating. They can even stop a Superman in his tracks, which was unfortunate since I was so hopeful that Kevin Costner would be a solid Pa Kent. But that wasn’t the case, or at least not in the way we thought.

“Stop! Collaborate and listen!”

A couple years ago, a couple tornadoes ripped through Illinois, both north and south of my location at the time. This is a picture of Washington, IL after the storm.

On February 29, 2012, an EF4 tornado woke up the small town of Harrisburg, IL. I’ve been to Harrisburg, years ago, back when I was in college. Southeastern Illinois College had a good basketball team. They were in our conference. So I had been there. This was the Catholic Church after the tornado.

Now, I’ve been fortunate that I’ve never been through one. But it got close in my radio days. So when that happened, I went into shelter mode and would broadcast from under the desk.

I remember having a backpack of tornado preparedness when I was in my teens. I had a walkman with headphones, a flashlight, and a granola bar I swapped out every couple months or so. It also had a novelty baseball helmet, you know…just in case.

Here’s what I’ve learned. Every region of the country has its unavoidable geographic anomalies. The Midwest has tornadoes. California has earthquakes. Florida has Hurricanes. The northeast has Patriots fans. It’s really summed up in this clip from Sports Illustrated’s Greatest Sports Follies (1989): 

So that’s my post about tornado season. Thanks to Jay for the topic. I think I’ve proven in the last 3+ weeks that I’ll write about damn near anything. Have a topic idea? Leave it in the comments.

Nerds United Episode 32

Merry Christmas and Welcome to the 2nd Annual Very Special Christmas Special.

This year I’m bringing back a guest from an earlier episode and giving her HER OWN SHOW! Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for Alice Harvey, pastry chef and artist with the Stache Publishing Crew.

Alice and I talk a little Stache business, but also cinematic and television adaptations of comic book properties. We also talk baking and Christmas memories.

Alice has a sure-fire recipe for all of your holiday gatherings:

Nutella Braid

Here is the recipe:
1/2 tsp. Active dry yeast
1c warm water (not hot)
2 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 c nutella
1 egg beaten with a Tbsp water to brush over braid before baking

-dissolve yeast in 1/4c water and let sit for ten minutes to activate.
– combine flour, salt, sugar in bowl of a mixer. – when the yeast is bloomed (it will be bubbly) add to flour mixture with remaining water.
– mix on medium speed with the paddle attachment until a dough is formed.
-switch to a dough hook and let mix for another 5 minutes until the dough has formed a supple ball.
-Place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic and let rest for a half hour.
– remove from bowl and roll the dough into a large circle.
– spread nutella over it.
– roll like a cinnamon roll.
– cut the roll down the middle to form two long strips.
-twist them together into a spiral (they will fan out a bit and start to look like a braid.)
-place the twist into a baking sheet and brush with the egg wash.
-bake at 350 degree until golden brown.

Three days later I’m the proud mother of a beautiful batch of croissants.

A photo posted by allie (@pepperann4633) on

Goodies like these can be acquired at Brasserie by Niche in St. Louis, proudly employing Alice. 

Now make sure you do a couple things:

1) Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes and Stitcher. And I wouldn’t mind a few ratings. Thanks for the love. 

2) GET YOUR QUESTIONS IN FOR THE NEXT EPISODE!!!!!

comics 4 beginners cover
Post your questions to the Facebook page!

 

Nerds United Episode 31

An INSANE ending to the mid-season finale of Arrow. GRRRR I don't like cliffhangers!
An INSANE ending to the mid-season finale of Arrow. GRRRR I don’t like cliffhangers!

Move over March…it’s MID-SEASON MADNESS!

Arrow, the Flash, Gotham, Constantine, Marvel Agents of SHIELD, plus a brief announcement of TITANS, coming to TNT. And I didn’t even get into The Walking Dead.

and the Jittery Monkey Podcast Network is growing. And you should check out the other shows on the network.

No contest: Matt Ryan is John Constantine where Keanu Reeves was...ummm...Keanu. Damn I love this show!
No contest: Matt Ryan is John Constantine where Keanu Reeves was…ummm…Keanu. Damn I love this show!